Historical Site

Our Time in Bucharest, Romania

Posted on June 20, 2026 by 2btravel

Passage to Eastern Europe: Trip Introduction
Flight Review: LOT Polish Airlines 797-9 Business Class, ORD-WAW
Lodging Review: Hampton by Hilton Krakow
Our Time in Krakow, Poland
Flixbus from Krakow to Budapest
Lodging Review: Corinthia Budapest Hotel
Our Time in Budapest, Hungary
Our Time in Kalocsa, Hungary
Our Time in Osijek and Vukovar, Croatia
Our Time in Belgrade, Serbia
Our Time in Golubac, Serbia
Our Time in Vidin, Bulgaria
Our Time in Ruse, Bulgaria
Our Time in Bucharest, Romania
Lodging Review: JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel
Flight Review: SWISS Airlines 777-300 ZRH-ORD

With Bulgaria and Romania being separated by the Danube, our ship didn’t have far to reposition during our last evening on board. We simply crossed the river and docked at the town of Giurgiu, Romania. The following morning we packed up our suitcases and the Viking crew took care of all of our bags while we boarded motor coaches for the drive inland to Bucharest, our final stop. Depending on traffic, it’s roughly a 70 to 90-minute drive to the country’s capital.

Romanian National Opera House

Our first stop was the home of both the Romanian National Opera and Ballet companies. The Romanian National Opera was founded in 1877 and in 1953 this building was created as their permanent home. The first opera to be performed was Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades. On the next night, the first ballet performance of the company, Coppélia, took place at the same theater.

Photo credit: opera-online.com

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Categories: Cruises, Europe, Historical Site, River Cruise, Romania, Tours, Trip Report, Viking | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Our Time in Ruse, Bulgaria

Posted on June 19, 2026 by 2btravel

Passage to Eastern Europe: Trip Introduction
Flight Review: LOT Polish Airlines 797-9 Business Class, ORD-WAW
Lodging Review: Hampton by Hilton Krakow
Our Time in Krakow, Poland
Flixbus from Krakow to Budapest
Lodging Review: Corinthia Budapest Hotel
Our Time in Budapest, Hungary
Our Time in Kalocsa, Hungary
Our Time in Osijek and Vukovar, Croatia
Our Time in Belgrade, Serbia
Our Time in Golubac, Serbia
Our Time in Vidin, Bulgaria
Our Time in Ruse, Bulgaria
Our Time in Bucharest, Romania
Lodging Review: JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel
Flight Review: SWISS Airlines 777-300 ZRH-ORD

While the ship docked in Ruse, Bulgaria (pronounced like ROO-say by our Bulgarian tour director), we did not spend any time in the immediate area. Instead we boarded motor coaches and, after a rest stop, our first real cultural site was the Konstantsalieva house in the town of Arbanasi (ar-bahn-AH-see). After that we stopped by the amazing Church of the Nativity, followed by a lunch stop and ended our tour at the Tsarevets Fortress.

Arbansi was considered a “privileged settlement” during the Ottoman rule that began in 1396. That meant it had certain tax exemptions and bit of autonomy because its residents provided certain military-related services. This status attracted wealthy merchants, craftsmen, and clergy and they, in turn, built fortified homes and ornate churches.

Konstantsalieva House

This house dates to the late 1600s, right in the middle of the Ottoman rule which lasted for five centuries. It’s a home typical of a wealthy Christian: the thick stone walls and small windows provide a defensive front, it has an inner courtyard for privacy, it’s fairly unassuming from the street view, yet inside it’s rather lavishly decorated with a Turkish flair.

Photo: museumvt.com

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Categories: Bulgaria, Europe, Historical Site, River Cruise, Tours, Trip Report | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Our Time in Vidin, Bulgaria

Posted on June 18, 2026 by 2btravel

Passage to Eastern Europe: Trip Introduction
Flight Review: LOT Polish Airlines 797-9 Business Class, ORD-WAW
Lodging Review: Hampton by Hilton Krakow
Our Time in Krakow, Poland
Flixbus from Krakow to Budapest
Lodging Review: Corinthia Budapest Hotel
Our Time in Budapest, Hungary
Our Time in Kalocsa, Hungary
Our Time in Osijek and Vukovar, Croatia
Our Time in Belgrade, Serbia
Our Time in Golubac, Serbia
Our Time in Vidin, Bulgaria
Our Time in Ruse, Bulgaria
Our Time in Bucharest, Romania
Lodging Review: JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel
Flight Review: SWISS Airlines 777-300 ZRH-ORD

We awoke to another beautiful day docked in the town of Vidin, Bulgaria. Our excursions on this day would lead us to a couple of fortresses, the Belogradchik Rocks & Fortress in the morning and the Baba Vida Fortress in the afternoon. The second half of the afternoon tour was a wine tasting that my friend enjoyed but, since I don’t drink alcohol, did nothing for me. I don’t have photos of that because we basically just sat in a large room where the other trip participants sampled the wine.

Belogradchik Rocks and Fortress

As you can see, this reconstructed fortress is truly imposing. The earliest version of a fort here was during the Roman empire when it was used primarily for surveillance. The designers incorporated much of the huge rocks into the design so that fortified walls only had to be constructed in a few places. There are three separate yards, each connected by gates, inside the walls.

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Categories: Bulgaria, Cruises, Europe, Historical Site, Tours, Trip Report, Viking | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Our Time in Golubac, Serbia

Posted on June 17, 2026 by 2btravel

Passage to Eastern Europe: Trip Introduction
Flight Review: LOT Polish Airlines 797-9 Business Class, ORD-WAW
Lodging Review: Hampton by Hilton Krakow
Our Time in Krakow, Poland
Flixbus from Krakow to Budapest
Lodging Review: Corinthia Budapest Hotel
Our Time in Budapest, Hungary
Our Time in Kalocsa, Hungary
Our Time in Osijek and Vukovar, Croatia
Our Time in Belgrade, Serbia
Our Time in Golubac, Serbia
Our Time in Vidin, Bulgaria
Our Time in Ruse, Bulgaria
Our Time in Bucharest, Romania
Lodging Review: JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel
Flight Review: SWISS Airlines 777-300 ZRH-ORD

The overcast skies that put a (literal) damper on our visit to Belgrade were nowhere to be seen when we awoke the following morning in Golubac, Serbia. The pronunciation of the city name was not intuitive to me as it is pronounced GOH-loo-bats. Naturally I wanted the final syllable to sound like “ack” but the Serbians choose to pronounce it differently!

Golubac Fortress

When we exited the boat, we only had to glance to our left to see our first stop for the day. The magnificent Golubac Fortress sits right on the Danube and is just everything you want a medieval fortress to be. Tall, seemingly impregnable walls, crenelated towers, built into the side of a rocky hill, you name it, it’s there, just a few hundred yards from where our ship docked.

Built in the 14th century by the Medieval Serbian state on the site of a former Roman settlement it saw action in numerous battles as various nations sought ownership. Over the years it has belonged to the Ottoman Empire, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Turks, the Bulgarians, the Hungarians (again), the Serbs (again), and the Austrians before being turned over to the Serbian king in 1867. Continue reading →

Categories: Cruises, Europe, Historical Site, Serbia, Tours, Trip Report, Viking | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Our Time in Osijek and Vukovar, Croatia

Posted on June 15, 2026 by 2btravel

Passage to Eastern Europe: Trip Introduction
Flight Review: LOT Polish Airlines 797-9 Business Class, ORD-WAW
Lodging Review: Hampton by Hilton Krakow
Our Time in Krakow, Poland
Flixbus from Krakow to Budapest
Lodging Review: Corinthia Budapest Hotel
Our Time in Budapest, Hungary
Our Time in Kalocsa, Hungary
Our Time in Osijek and Vukovar, Croatia
Our Time in Belgrade, Serbia
Our Time in Golubac, Serbia
Our Time in Vidin, Bulgaria
Our Time in Ruse, Bulgaria
Our Time in Bucharest, Romania
Lodging Review: JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel
Flight Review: SWISS Airlines 777-300 ZRH-ORD

While we’d been to Croatia before, it was always on the country’s west coast. Twice we’d visited Dubrovnik and the surrounding area and on our last Mediterranean cruise we’d had an unscheduled stop in Zadar. Our port on this date was Vukovar (VOO-koh-var) which is in the far eastern part of the country. We’d also visit Osijek (OH-see-yeck) which was not terribly far away on the Drava River. Our included morning tour saw our boat’s passengers divided into four groups. Two groups visited local residents first while the other two groups visited a local church and then the groups swapped activities.

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Categories: Croatia, Cruises, Europe, Historical Site, River Cruise, Tours, Trip Report, Viking | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Our Time in Kalocsa, Hungary

Posted on June 13, 2026 by 2btravel

Passage to Eastern Europe: Trip Introduction
Flight Review: LOT Polish Airlines 797-9 Business Class, ORD-WAW
Lodging Review: Hampton by Hilton Krakow
Our Time in Krakow, Poland
Flixbus from Krakow to Budapest
Lodging Review: Corinthia Budapest Hotel
Our Time in Budapest, Hungary
Our Time in Kalocsa, Hungary
Our Time in Osijek and Vukovar, Croatia
Our Time in Belgrade, Serbia
Our Time in Golubac, Serbia
Our Time in Vidin, Bulgaria
Our Time in Ruse, Bulgaria
Our Time in Bucharest, Romania
Lodging Review: JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel
Flight Review: SWISS Airlines 777-300 ZRH-ORD

After our first night aboard the Viking Ullr we docked in Kalocsa, Hungary which is only about 1.5 hours south of Budapest by car but of course we were floating leisurely down the Danube. We boarded a motorcoach and for about 20 minutes we wound our way through farmland and the town of Kalocsa, which has a population of about 16,000 people. We then turned by this sign for the Bakodpuszta Horse Farm. Continue reading →

Categories: Cruises, Europe, Historical Site, Hungary, River Cruise, Tours, Viking | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Travel Tuesday Photo: Temple of Hadrian in Ephesus, Türkiye

Posted on June 9, 2026 by 2btravel

The ancient city of Ephesus is an active archaeological dig site and a fascinating visit to see an entire ancient city.  The main street is called Curates Street and this is the entrance to the Temple of Hadrian.

Categories: Europe, Historical Site, Picture of the Week, Turkey | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Our Time in Krakow, Poland

Posted on June 9, 2026 by 2btravel

Passage to Eastern Europe: Trip Introduction
Flight Review: LOT Polish Airlines 797-9 Business Class, ORD-WAW
Lodging Review: Hampton by Hilton Krakow
Our Time in Krakow, Poland
Flixbus from Krakow to Budapest
Lodging Review: Corinthia Budapest Hotel
Our Time in Budapest, Hungary
Our Time in Kalocsa, Hungary
Our Time in Osijek and Vukovar, Croatia
Our Time in Belgrade, Serbia
Our Time in Golubac, Serbia
Our Time in Vidin, Bulgaria
Our Time in Ruse, Bulgaria
Our Time in Bucharest, Romania
Lodging Review: JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel
Flight Review: SWISS Airlines 777-300 ZRH-ORD

I feel like I let myself down during our time in Krakow. We did hit some bumps that I couldn’t have foreseen but I definitely could have planned our time better. But here’s an overview of the things we saw and did on our visit.

First, the bumps:
– While our original flights had us landing in Krakow at 4:20 PM, due to the air traffic control issues in Chicago we missed our original connection and didn’t land until just after 5 PM. While that’s not much of a delay, in itself, the sheer fatigue we were feeling after not departing from Chicago until nearly 11 PM really knocked us out.
– My traveling companion had a bit of a sinus bug which left her feeling worn out for about the first week of our trip. Thus we didn’t stay out and experience the city as we otherwise might have. That lead to us dining at the hotel more and experiencing local restaurants less.
– I asked ChatGPT for things to do during our stay. I had it exclude Auschwitz since we’d already visited Dachau a few years ago. Since I don’t drink alcohol I also had it exclude wineries and breweries. While it gave us a good plan, I left it at that and didn’t follow up to see if we needed to buy tickets online ahead of time. That caused us to miss one attraction we’d have like to have seen, Oskar Schindler’s Factory.

We didn’t have great weather in Krakow. It rained off and on our whole first day, a Friday, and eased off on the weekend. But it was overcast almost the whole time and quite humid. In early-to-mid-October the temperature was in the upper-50sF which meant a jacket felt nice.

Wieliczka Salt Mine

Getting There and Back

While this had been on our agenda for a later day, since it was raining we thought this would be a good place to stay dry. While it’s possible to reach the salt mine from the hotel using public transit, it would take quite a long time, so we opted for an Uber. It was only about $11.25 going to the Salt Mine at 9:30 AM on a Friday but it was about $22 on the way back around 1:30 PM. I guess because the salt mine is a tourist attraction? It just seemed odd. I was fortunate that the salt mine has a couple of areas with strong WiFi: the cafe and the gift shop. I was having issues with my data-only eSIM card but was able to use the WiFi to pick up an Uber for the return trip. Continue reading →

Categories: Award Travel, Europe, Historical Site, Poland, Trip Report | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Travel Tuesday Photo: Church of the Nativity in Arbanasi, Bulgaria

Posted on June 2, 2026 by 2btravel

The incredible Church of the Nativity in Arbanasi, Bulgaria has frescoes of over 3500 saints and Biblical scenes.  It’s quite a small place and off the beaten track but well worth the effort to visit.

Categories: Bulgaria, Europe, Historical Site, Picture of the Week | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Our Time in Venice, Italy

Posted on January 5, 2024 by 2btravel

Trip Report: Athens and a Mediterranean Cruise
Lounge Reviews: The Club CLT and Centurion Lounge Charlotte Airport
Flight Review: Lufthansa A340-600 Charlotte-Munich
Lodging Review: Academias Hotel, Autograph Collection, Athens
Our Time in Athens, Part I (Acropolis and Museum)
Our Time in Athens, Part II (Roman Agora, Hadrian’s Library, Ancient Agora)
Our Time in Athens, Part III (Kerameikos, Temple of Zeus, Panathenaic Stadium)
Our Time in Athens, Part IV (Restaurants and Observations)
Ship Review: Viking Neptune
Our Time in Ancient Olympia (Katakalon, Greece)
Our Time in Corfu, Greece
Our Time in Kotor, Montenegro
Our Time in Dubrovnik, Croatia
Our Time in Zadar, Croatia
Our Time in Venice, Italy
Flight Review: Iberia A330-300 Madrid-Chicago

As is usual on Viking cruises, they try to sell you on another cruise while you’re on the current one, offering special incentives to do so. My friends and I have a system for selecting our international vacations: whoever has a birthday ending in a 5 or 0 gets to pick the destination. That covers six out of every 10 years, so it works for us. 2025 is my choice and I’d had my eye on Viking’s Passage to Eastern Europe river cruise which runs between Budapest, Hungary and Bucharest, Romania. When we checked with the on-board travel consultant we learned that we could book this cruise for just $25 down and it didn’t have to be paid off until six months before the sailing. That was huge for me as normally the cruises have to be paid off in 2-3 months. So we went ahead and booked this cruise for $25 and that gave us 18 months to pay. When we added in our past-traveler discounts and our on-board booking discounts, that took another $600 off the price. Plus we got shipboard credit for our current cruise and additional shipboard credit for the one we’d just booked. Want to join us? Click on the link at the top of the page for more info.

Since we’d had an overnight port of call in Venice on our previous Mediterranean cruise back in 2008, our original plan was to skip the included tour and just wander around ourselves. That was something we’d really enjoyed doing the first time around. But now we had shipboard credit to spend. We could have stuck to the plan and used the credits to cover crew tips and some small purchases but where’s the fun in that? Instead we used it to book The Island and the Abbey tour, which took us to the island of Murano and then to the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore as we’d not visited either of time in our previous time in the area. Continue reading →

Categories: Cruises, Europe, Historical Site, Italy, Tours, Trip Report, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Viking | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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